Kline and Friends, Inc./Summary
Background: 'Kline and Friends '''was a production company formed in 1984 that primarily produced game shows. It was formed by producer/director Richard S. Kline, who had left his longtime job at Barry & Enright Productionsafter Jack Barry's death in 1984, as he and several other B&E staffers felt that partner Dan Enright had not respected Barry's wishes regarding ''The Joker's Wild (Barry had wanted frequent sub-host Jim Peck to succeed him as permanent host; Enright instead picked veteran host Bill Cullen) and quit as a show of protest. Joining Kline at his new company were composer Hal Hidey, longtime veteran game show Art Director John C. Mula, several of Kline's children and even Barry's son Jonathan. However, the company's first two productions, Break the Bank and Strike it Rich (neither to be confused with several other series using those respective names) were flops; the former because of issues Kline had with original host Gene Rayburn, the latter because of a glut in syndicated game shows at the time. They found success with Win, Lose or Draw (co-produced with Burt and Bert Productions and Buena Vista Television), but they did not have much success after that; the company's last production was an adaptation of Pictionary in 1997. 1st Logo (September 16, 1985-January 1989?) Logo: After the credits comes a superimposed logo that looks like this: Kline & Friends Just like in the second logo, "Inc." is in a cursive font, over an ampersand that looks a lot like a bass clef you see on music sheets. Variant: *There is a white version of the logo that zooms out on a sparkly sunburst background that "shoots" out. This was seen on earlier episodes of Break the Bank. *On Win, Lose or Draw, the logo is in yellow, whereas on Strike it Rich and Break the Bank, the logo is in white. FX/SFX: The logo zooming-out in the variant. Music/Sounds: End theme, along with announcer: *''Break the Bank'': "Break the Bank is a Kline & Friends production, in association with Blair Entertainment, Storer Communications, and Hubbard Broadcasting, Incorporated." (v/o: Michael Hanks) *''Strike it Rich: "''Strike it Rich ''is a Kline & Friends production in association with Blair Entertainment." (Two more credits for Bruce M. Sterten Productions and Ladd/Framer Productions would be seen, despite announcers Charlie O'Donnell or Bob Hilton not mentioning their names.) *''Win, Lose or Draw: "Win, Lose, or Draw ''is a Burt & Bert Production in association with Kline and Friends." (v/o: either Bob Hilton or Gene Wood) Availability: The in-credit version can be found on ''Win, Lose, or Draw, while the variant can be found on the 1985 version of Break the Bank (at least in early episodes with Gene Rayburn as host), with Blair Entertainment's logo coming after. There is a white in-credit variant that can be found on the 1985 version of Break the Bank, from later Rayburn episodes and Joe Farago's entire run, as well as the 1986 version of Strike it Rich ''with Joe Garagiola, though the latter show has a much smaller version of the logo. Editor's Note: Low, the zooming sunburst background in the variant might be harsh on the eyes. 2nd Logo (January-September 1, 1989, August 29, 1994-June 12, 1998) Logo: On a black background, we see the logo reading: · KLINE · and FRIENDS inc. "KLINE" is in a curved font, on an image of a swinging sign that tilts back and forth under a wooden hold. Variant: Sometimes, one of the metal pieces snaps, and the logo tilts on its side. A still version can be found on season 2 of ''Masters of the Maze. FX/SFX: The swinging sign. Music/Sounds: None usually (it tends to have the closing theme playing over), but the variant has a "squeak" sound when the logo comes apart. On Win, Lose or Draw, you would also hear an announcer say, "Win, Lose, or Draw ''is a Burt & Bert Production in association with Kline and Friends." Availability: Only known to be on ''Masters of the Maze ''and ''Pictionary, although it made an early appearance (sans swinging effects) on a few 1989 NBC Daytime episodes of Win, Lose or Draw with Vicki Lawrence, alternating with Logo #2 above (not sure if it appears on later episodes of the Convy syndicated version). Editor's Note: None. 3rd Logo (September 11, 1989-March 8, 1991) Logo: Superimposed in the credits, we see the logo from before, but the orange sign appears nowhere to be seen. FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: The end theme of the show. On Win, Lose or Draw, you would also hear an announcer say, "Win, Lose, or Draw ''is a Burt & Bert Production in association with Kline and Friends." For ''The Joker's Wild, the announcer (Ed MacKay) would say "The Joker's Wild ''is a Kline & Friends production in association with Jack Barry Productions." On ''3rd Degree!, the announcer (usually Bob Hilton) says "3rd Degree! is a Kline and Friends Production in association with Burt & Bert Production and Lorimar Television. Distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution." Availability: Rare; last seen on the Robb Weller version of Win, Lose or Draw, which last reran in 2002 on GSN. Also spotted on the 1990 Joker's Wild revival with Pat Finn when it was last seen on the USA Network in the 90s and 3rd Degree!, Bert Convy's final game show before his death, as well as NBC's short lived daytime talk show with Marsha Warfield from 1990-91. Editor's Note: None.